Ferhat Abbas, 86, a pharmacist who became the first leader...

December 26, 1985

ALGIERS — Ferhat Abbas, 86, a pharmacist who became the first leader of Algeria's provisional government in the 1950s and served as president of the country's Parliament after independence, died Tuesday. Abbas, who was regarded as one of the founders of independent Algeria, published a Manifesto of the Algerian People in 1943 calling for equality for Moslems and political autonomy and sovereignty for Algeria. The manifesto galvanized Algerians in their struggle for independence from France.